It Doesn't Just Go Away
by jessicascxo
Summary: Also known as the one where it's almost graduation day and Lydia is leaving and Stiles only has a few hours to tell her how he really feels


"It's weird to think that just three years ago we were right in this exact spot trying to help you get over that break up with Allison," Stiles said as he sat on ground in the woods, taking a sip of his beer. "And now we're right back here the night before our graduation."

"Yeah, man, we've just come full circle." Scott chuckled, nodding his head slowly. The school year was done, and they all had somehow managed to survive high school – well _most_ of them.

Deep down Scott still hurt from Allison's death, it was something he knew he would never be able to completely get over. Every night he couldn't help but close his eyes and think about her. He thought about watching as the life got sucked out of her, the words she spoke and if she was alive what she would be doing now. She probably would have gone to UCLA, away from Beacon Hills and all the madness that the town held, and she would have been happy.

Alive and happy.

The plans for the group were settled and they were all starting to prepare to say their goodbyes. Malia had plans to move away to New York with her adoptive father, somewhere she could protect him and get away. It took her awhile to finally get the courage to tell Stiles, but when it happened they both had agreed that their relationship just wasn't what it was anymore.

It hurt to think about the two coming to an end, but it fizzled out so quickly that they like they were together because they were comfortable with each other, not because they were truly in love.

Kira and Scott were both going to Bakersfield College, Scott was going to study to be a veterinarian, while Kira was going to study to be a history professor. It was pure luck that the two ended up falling in love with the same school, but it was even better that they had fallen in love with each other.

Kira understood that she could never fill the hole in his heart, but Scott knew that she made his heart feel like it was three times the size than it was already – they were just made for each other.

Stiles decided to take the year off, unlike his friends who all had plans already, he wanted to stay behind and really decide what he wanted to do with his life. What did he want to go to school for? Did he _even_ want to go to school? What school? These were all questions that took time to answer and Stiles knew he had all the time in the world to answer them.

"Lydia's leaving tomorrow," Scott whispered to his friend, still in disbelief as he shook his head. "Right after graduation she's getting on a plane and leaving."

Stiles looked down at his hands, watching the beer bottle carefully as he tried to block out Scott's words because that was the one person he didn't want to think about.

Lydia freakin' Martin.

She had gotten a full ride to Princeton, the place she deserved to be and had wanted to go her whole life. She was leaving early for an early admissions program where she got to do take extra classes and get her bachelor's degree earlier than most. Stiles was excited for her, he really was, but the thought of never seeing her bright green eyes and flowing strawberry blonde hair made the pit in his stomach hurt.

"I don't know if this is the right time to ask, but…do you still like her?" Scott asked, his brown eyes connecting with the side of his best friends face. The boy's features spoke for him, but Scott wanted to hear the words come out of his friend's mouth.

"No," his words were flat as he pulled his legs up and rested his elbows on his knees. "I _love_ her, and a love like that just doesn't go away. I wish it did. I wish that I could say that being with someone else for a while had taught me to fall out of love with Lydia, but it didn't. It just showed me how much of her I was missing and how all those years that I was completely head over heels for her I just needed to speak up, just needed to let my feelings be known."

Stiles drank from the bottle until he finished it, throwing it to the side before getting another one and cracking it open.

"I guess I learned to control how creepy and weird I was about my feelings for her, but whenever I felt like I needed to save someone it wasn't you or Kira or Malia; my first instinct was, is, and always will be to save Lydia. And now I can't. I get to watch her leave and live her life. A-And it's not like she needs to be saved, she doesn't need anyone to ever watch over her or protect her. She's strong and smart and she can do it herself, but I love her. I love her and I can't help myself."

Scott nodded his head, he knew that the reality of it all was hard for his friend and that having to say goodbye to the girl he loves was going to be the hardest thing Stiles ever had to do.

"It's not to late, you know. She's probably at her house right now, packing up some last minute things. Go talk to her." Scott offered.

"I think…it might be best if I don't."

So he didn't, and Scott didn't question him about it. The two just drank their beers and continued to live in the moment, knowing that this was the summer to end it all for the boys and for everyone in Beacon Hills.

It would have been much easier for Stiles to just have ignored what Scott had said, like he _usually_ did but a few hours after their little "bro-fest", he just found himself sitting in his Jeep outside the Martin home.

The lights were off and everything was quiet and still – very unusual for Beacon Hills, but he thanked the lack of Supernatural creatures recently for that one.

It was as if in a split second Stiles' phone lit up with a text message from none other than Lydia herself that he sighed.

 _I can hear your Jeep's engine from my room. I'll be out in a minute._

It was crazy how she just knew sometimes, but recently he had been going over to the girl's house more often. He was having night terrors again and Lydia had been too busy to sleep, so he would wait outside her house and they would sit in his Jeep and talk as best friends would. Her head on his chest and his arm around her shoulders as they talked about all the things wrong in their lives. Scott was his best friend, no doubt about it, but Lydia was the one he looked to anchor him down.

More often than not Stiles just wanted to pull her in even closer and tell her how much he loved her, but he just couldn't.

The sound of the car door opening caused Stiles to snap back into reality, shutting off his car as the girl slid in. She looked like she was just crying and worry started to seep into his bones.

"Lydia, what's wrong?"

He was nervous of what her answer was going to be especially since usually she hid her feelings, trying to bury them deep down until everyone forgot. Stiles never forgot, but he respected her too much to press her on all of the issues.

The boy was surprised when he felt the girl throw her arms around his neck, a faint sound of sniffling in his hear as his arms wrapped back around her, pulling her close so that she was practically sitting on his lap. His hand moved to rub her back slowly, not saying a word as he could now feel the tears start to wet his shirt.

It was definitely something for Stiles to get used to, having to comfort the girl, she was usually there to comfort him and tell him what to do in situations, sometimes he was there for support – but Lydia was smart, she knew what she was doing. So to have her in his arms crying was definitely a new experience.

She pulled away after a few moments, her eyes puffy and bloodshot, while her hair was frizzy and a mess. Lydia used her shaking hands to try and fix herself up while she took a deep breath.

"I-I don't think I can leave. I…I can't do it, Stiles…I'm not good enough. I'm going to go there and be this _freak_ who starts to scream when there's a dead body and people aren't going to understand. No one's going to understand and…"

"Lydia"

"I'll be the laughing stock of the whole school…"

"Lydia"

"And I won't be able to focus because…"

"Lydia!" Stiles finally yelled to cut off the girl who was once again crying as she rambled on. "You are the smartest human being I've ever met in my life, and I'm pretty sure you're going to go out there and steal the hearts of everyone you know."

Lydia's bottom lip quivered as she tried to keep herself from not breaking down.

"You've already stolen all the hearts from Beacon Hills, now you need to conquer the rest of the world." He whispered as he brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, his heart beat was rapid and he could feel the words he wanted to speak on the tip of his tongue, getting ready to just spill out.

"How do you know?"

"Because I know what it feels like the have the honor of getting it stolen and broken by you. Everyone in the world will have that privilege soon. This is your world, Lydia, we're all just living in it."

Lydia just stared at the boy in front of her, she knew that he had once loved her but something about the tension in the air at that moment made her realize that it he still did. The way that he had always kept her attention, made her focus, told her how amazing she was, and how whenever something went wrong she was the first one on his mind. That was what she was always looking for, it was always what she wanted and she found it.

Because Lydia Martin was head over heels in love with Stiles Stilinski.

"It's you." She whispered, her mouth was open slightly.

"That wasn't anywhere near what I was talking about. Yes, it's me? I'm Stiles, we've been friends for a few years now, fought off some supernatural creatures together, almost died a few times," Stiles' tone was sarcastic as he spoke, his head tilted to the side as he was thoroughly confused with what the girl was going on about.

"Y-You're the reason I can't leave Beacon Hills, you're the reason I stay up at night wondering why I can't sleep or why I'm second guessing the school of my dreams. It's you, Stiles," she said as realization filled her eyes.

"I'm…sorry?" He apologized in a confused tone, not really sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Stiles, don't you get it. I _love_ you. I love you and I want to be with you and subconsciously I can't bring myself to leave not because of my family or anyone else, but because of you."

"Uhhhh, excuse me?" Stiles shook his head, his body jerking up a little bit. "Wh-Wh-What. did you just say?"

"I said," she got close to the boy so that their faces were only a few inches away. "I love you, Stiles."

Closing the gap between the two, their lips connected in a kiss that was full of passion and love, it was what the two had wanted and what they had needed for a long time. Stiles pulled away and rested his head against hers, his breathing heavy, he opened his eyes and stared into hers.

"I love you too, Lydia Martin. I always will."


End file.
